Burgundy Chardonnay & Chardonnay Blends

Burgundy Chardonnay & Chardonnay Blends

The region of Burgundy has become synonymous with high quality red wines, but in actual fact the region consistently produces a wide variety of fine wines of many different styles, rigorously protected by French wine laws designed to keep reputations and quality at a very high level. The region benefits greatly from a warm and sunny summer climate, which, coupled with the excellent quality soils which typify the region, and centuries of experience and expertise, has led to the region being known all over the world for the excellence of its produce. The majority of grapevines grown here are of the Pinot Noir varietal, which has helped Burgundy become known as the definitive region for elegant and smooth red wines, but Chardonnay grapes and many others are also grown in abundance and used to make both still and sparkling wines.Known commonly as the great white grape of the Burgundy region of France, Chardonnay has become the most popular white wine in America, if not the world. Chardonnay is by nature a rich, full-bodied wine that grows at its best in a relatively cool climate. It is grown in virtually every growing region in the U.S. and is made in a myriad styles. Most Champagne and methode champenoise sparkling wine has Chardonnay in its blend. At one extreme, it can be elegantly floral and forward in the nose, with lovely fruit of pears and melons and a clean green apple acidity with a certain flinty or chalky mineral quality. It often has a full almost "oily" mouthfeel that lasts seemingly forever on the palate, with a perfect balance of fruit, acid and alcohol. Despite the long, complex finish, Chardonnay makes you hungry for food and thirsty for more wine all at the same time. At the other extreme, the first inhalation fills your nostrils with the sweet vanilla of new French oak and the creamy, buttery complexity that only Chardonnay can embody. Butterscotch, hazelnuts, toasted almonds all might come to mind, and the fruit might be tropical in nature, perhaps pineapples or coconuts, with more grapefruit-like acidity. This is truly a chameleon grape, and it can be altered as much by the climate and soil as by the winemaker's hand. In this country, it has found its best representations in Monterey and the Central Coast, Santa Barbara County, Carneros, Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley, Alexander Valley, Russian River Valley, Willamette Valley (Oregon), Yakima Valley (Washington), Virginia and Long Island.